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In memory of

Andrew (Andy) Richard Scrocca

Mulberry, FL, USA

1928 - December 19, 2020

1928 - Dec 19, 2020

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SCROCCA Andrew (Andy) Richard age 92. October 29, 1928 - December 19, 2020. Andy was born in South Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from South Philadelphia High School. He was one of seven children of an Italian immigrant, Daniel Scrocca and Theresa Scrocca.
He was barely out of grade school when he set up a shoeshine stand outside church on Sundays, charging a nickel a shine, delivering the Evening Bulletin newspaper and selling produce from the back of truck. “Times were hard, so we all did what we could” he said.
After graduating from high school in 1946, he enlisted with the Marine Corps.
The people in the neighborhood teased him about being small (5' 7") and said he would never get in, but they welcomed him with open arms. His military service took him to Guam, where his unit supervised prisoners from World War II. When he boarded the ship to come home it was Dec. 5, 1950.
He worked in construction for a few years before joining Westinghouse in 1957, launching a career that would span nearly 30 years. He then discovered local politics and a new passion. His best friend was on the board of commissioners in Ridley Township, PA and told him his district was coming up for election. He hadn’t given it much thought before but decided to give it a shot.
He won a four-year term by a scant 12 votes, and he slid back into that commission seat unopposed in the next two elections and served for 16 years. He was chairman of the library committee when they built the new Ridley Township library in 1967. The library is still standing today.
Andy also served as chairman of the cancer fund-raising drive for several years. He always enjoyed doing things that helped people.
Going through a divorce from his wife, Terry in the early 1970s, he chose not to seek another term on Pennsylvania’s Ridley Township Board of Commissioners.
He later met his second wife, Winnie, and they were married until her passing in 2017.
In 1986 after many trips to Disney World brought them to the Lakeland, FL area, they settled in Mulberry, FL. When Mulberry annexed the community in 1989 and created a new commission seat to represent that district, Andy glided onto the City Commission without opposition. He held that seat until 2015 at age 87 and was told he may be the oldest commissioner in the USA at the time. Andy loved Italian food and also spoke fluent Italian as a second language. His hobbies were playing poker and pool. He is survived by his two sons, Mark (Mary) Scrocca and Brian Scrocca; three grandchildren; two stepsons; 12 step-grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

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